Scrappy Business Development and Marketing: How To Do More With Less
Posted by [email protected] on May. 11, 2023 / Program Recap / Subscribe 0
May Program: Scrappy Business Development and Marketing: How To Do More With Less
Even before “burnout” and “silent quitting” were common phrases in the business world, teams from nearly every department in every industry struggled with workload, clear direction, lack of support, and lack of resources. Marketing in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry was no different. Now, amidst fallout from COVID, the Great Resignation, and whispers of an impending recession, the pressure to get projects off the ground while still managing day-to-day duties may feel even more daunting. Awareness of this reality made the May Triangle SMPS program by Jed Byrne of WithersRavenel titled, Scrappy Business Development and Marketing: How to Do More with Less, even more intriguing and timelier. Triangle SMPS members showed up in force at the Brier Creek Country Club on May 9 to learn strategies and mindset adjustments that would help implementors make noticeable gains towards those larger goals.
First, Jed led with a challenge to a traditional way of thinking. He knows that the term “sales” can invoke a less than positive connotation to some. At the beginning of the program, he implored the audience to think of sales as “helping people you like get what they want.” This new understanding is the “fuel for your scrappy projects.” His approach of being scrappy is to help reduce the barriers to starting and helping more people. Oftentimes, our number one barrier is ourselves! Don’t you want to help people? Don’t you want to help as many people as possible? Stop waiting!
So, what is a scrappy project, exactly? Jed defined scrappy projects as being self-initiated with a limited budget and within the “locus of your control,” meaning, the inputs and outputs (goals) are in your control. Jed’s personal example was a newsletter he developed solely to stay connected and build a bigger network with key people in the Raleigh commercial real estate community. He was already doing the research necessary to build the content of the newsletter, so all he had to do was share it with his peer group. The newsletter has since grown from a distribution of under 100 to roughly 1300 subscribers. He’s been offered projects, jobs, and speaking opportunities because of this newsletter. It has led to spinoffs in other areas of his life, where he has been able to take his ideas further and leverage them in new places like podcasting. He emphasized that sitting in this hybrid area of personal and professional projects allows for skill development to happen more organically and gives an individual the space to test and refine ideas. No one is great at something right away – you must start somewhere.
Now that we know what a scrappy project is, why is it important? Scrappy projects are significant because they are the key to innovation and impact. They force you to focus on a niche and embrace constraints. The ultimate goal is to “own” your category. A company or individual does not have to be the first to market, they just have to be the best. To figure out where to focus an effort you need to know where to perform. What is your niche? Who are your people (psychographic, demographic, geographic, etc.)? What do they want (think outside of your services)? How can you help them get it? Then you need to define your constraints (money, time, quality, frequency, geography, etc.) Constraints can present opportunities for creative problem solving and help give you a laser focus on what needs to be done rather than having too broad of a problem to solve. Too broad of a focus is impossible to tackle.
Lastly, how do you start a scrappy project? Tactics involve format, budget, timing, and distribution. Format can be written, spoken, audiovisual, an event, etc. You can have no budget or a low budget and borrow money from another resource pool. Setting realistic timelines and incorporating a schedule into your calendar is key to carving out time to work towards your goal. Distribution channels include in-person, email, calling, third-party, social media, paid platforms, etc. How you approach a scrappy project, or which tactics you use, varies. For example, if you don’t have a venue for an event, you can do something outside or invite people to pay for themselves. You can solicit sponsorships and tap other resources in your network who can help in various ways. No matter what you do, remember: just start something. Jed closed reminding everyone that he’s not special and neither are you. Starting off is hard for everyone, but you can never get big without starting small.
Emily Herndon, Marketing Director
CT Wilson Construction
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